Designer Loft Bridal

This review is specifically for my stylist, Sha, who I recommend highly as someone to schedule your trial appointment with. Sha was wonderful. I’m not the type of bride that has been imagining my wedding my whole life. In fact, I find this whole process rather overwhelming.
Sha listened carefully as I described mostly what I didn’t want, and helped me focus down to the types of dresses that would suit my style and body type. She came very close to selling me «the» dress, but it ended up that she pointed me in the direction of my dream dress, which just happened to be at another salon. I’m writing her an awesome review because without her I wouldn’t have found my wedding dress, and even though I didn’t buy it from this particular salon, she still followed up, was kind, and ultimately really happy for me. It’s amazing to find a stylist who actually has your best interests at heart and doesn’t pressure you.
Book your first wedding dress appointment at Designer Lofts, and ask for Sha!

After an unsuccessful stop at another location, I came to Designer Loft for my wedding dress appointment. When we got in were were greeted and told to wait. The space is smallish, but not overcrowded. It has an intimate feel. After I filed out a quick questionnaire, I was introduced to Oscar. Oscar asked me questions of what I was going for. While I had one style in mind, I was willing to try different styles.
Oscar was great at pulling dresses I would never have pulled for myself. In fact, he pulled «the» dress for me. He was very professional and full of great ideas for possible dress alterations. I think Oscar is great for someone who is not completely set in what they want and is willing to explore dresses you would at first say «no» too.
The only thing I wish is that Designer Loft had more reception/​shorter dresses. I would have purchased my second dress right there if there was one for me. I appreciated that the folks at Designer Loft were respectful of my price range. I was not pushed to buy for a higher price. I did not feel rushed. I was treated well. I would recommend Designer Loft. Will update once I receive my dress.

DO NOT GO to Designer Lofts if you want your dress to arrive on time (ie the time frame the sales associate said it would arrive),
You want proper and necessary alterations to be done to your dress.
You DONT want your dress ruined by Designer Lofts during the alterations process.
You want your dress to look and fit the same or better than the sample you tried on.
You want good or even decent customer service and want to be treated as more than just a dollar sign.
I ordered my wedding dress from Designer Lofts, they had a good selection of dresses and my experience up until I PAID for my dress was fine. That is where my positive experience with Designer Lofts ended.
The dress that arrived, arrived late, was a different color than the sample I tried on and had embellishment that were not a part of the sample dress I tried on.
I ordered what I thought was my dream wedding dress designed by Matthew Christopher.
The dress did not fit or look like the sample dress I tried on which I fell in love with. Designer Lofts tried to put the blame for the issues with the dress first on the designer Matthew Christopher and then on me.
Unnecessary work was done and undone to the dress causing the processes to take much longer and the dress was never fit correctly. The extra work that was done and then undone to my dress caused unnecessary stress on the dress and altered its look and fit.
The dress was taken in far too much around my hips, waist, under arms and back causing bunching and bulging for no reason. Darts were added to the front of my dress changing the entire look of the dress. So much work was done and then undone to my dress for no reason. The issue with the top of my dress being taken up and in too much was never fixed. It was far to tight around my arms, under arms, upper back, and neckline, which altered the look and made it uncomfortable to wear.
First I was told that the excessive bunching was because my dress had not been altered and pressed. I have no idea why they did not quickly press my dress before my first fitting so that it looked presentable. When the bunching got worse as the dress was altered I was told that the dress was new and stiff and that was causing the bunching. I was told that I needed to wear my dress more to loosen the stiff fabric. I am unaware of brides wearing their wedding dress around outside of fittings before the wedding.
The owner Liz who I spoke with after my wedding was argumentative and inconsistent making up excuse after excuse as to why me dress arrived late, why my alterations were handled so poorly, and why I was given inconsistent information. She often did not make sense.
Liz tried to tell me my dress was a rush order when it was not. I was told by Designers Lofts my dress would take 5 months to arrive and that I had plenty of time to get the dress and have alterations done. Liz would try and tell me the dress takes longer to arrive and ignored the note her employee had given me stating it takes 5months to arrive.
Liz tried to blame the alteration issue on me telling me one month is considered a rush even though I did not have a month for alterations I had a month and a half and had my dress arrived on time I would have had over 2 months for alterations. Liz first told me they prefer 2−3month for alterations something I was never told. Then she said they were perfectly capable of fitting a dress in a months and that they even complete fittings in one week for international client.
Liz said she gave me my seamstress because she was flexible and available on weekends. I did not need my seamstress to be availed on weekend and never asked for this. In fact my seamstress was not available on weekends as she was a sales associate at Designer Lofts on the weekends. I only had one fitting on a Saturday. It was supposed to be my lasting fitting and took hours, as did several of my other fittings. The seamstress was unable to complete my dress at my last fitting because she had to take an appointment to try on wedding dresses.
I got excuse after excuse, which often contradicted each other as to why I received horrible service and my wedding dress was butchered during alterations and never fit correctly.

I cannot recommend Designer Loft enough! I primarily went there because I really like Rosa Clara and I saw online that they carried the entire collection. In fact, they had a huge selection of this and last year’s gorgeous Rosa Clara gowns (and many other fantastic designers as well). All the associates were incredibly friendly, professional and helpful. I bought my dress at the first visit, and the whole process from the purchase to the last fitting went very smoothly. They also helped me select the right veil, and worked with me within my budget (instead of trying to push something more expensive on me like some stores do, from what I hear).
Obviously budget is different for everyone, but having done some research, DL is just in the right range of offering high end designer gowns without being too outrageously priced. I definitely thought it was worth it.
I was so happy with my Rosa Clara dress, Thank You DL Team!
Everyone loved the dress, especially my husband :)

I had a great experience at Designer Loft. My consultant, Eileen, was very professional and courteous and helped me find my beautiful Rosa Clara dress. The alteration process was smooth and easy and my dress was delivered (cross country!) without any issues. I would recommend this store.

I was just there this weekend and was lucky enough to have had Sha as my bridal consultant. The dresses she pulled were beautiful and insightful — she completely understood what I want to capture on my wedding day. Sha is supper sweet and her relaxed nature made me feel comfortable from the start. Make sure y’all get an appointment with Sha, you’ll be taken care of :)

I found the dress I wanted at another bridal boutique but couldn’t afford it. I emailed a few boutiques that also sold the dress and Designer Loft emailed me back fifteen minutes later and gave me a great price for my ideal dress. I was hesitant on the price for alterations but realized that their price was reasonable and they did make the dress exactly as I wanted it. They were honest about how the dress looked on me with my accessories and didn’t just tell me what they thought I wanted to hear. They work quickly and I never felt more beautiful on the day of my wedding. The owner was a blessing and really made my day for my destination wedding amazing. I’ll never forget my husband’s expression when he saw me in my dress.

I met one of the sales people from DL in another store– she recommended I try DL because of the styles I was looking for at my other appointment with her.
The style I was going for was vintage with a twist — something quirky like an open back or beaded sleeves –just something that would make it stand out.
I had seen a dress I loved in Kleinfeld and had an appointment to go back and try on again before I bought — so I was fairly confident that I had already found my dress.
I read some of the Unilocal reviews and honestly went to the shop with a pessimistic view and very low expectations.
The dresses on show were quite shabby and looked like they had been tried on by hundreds of girls before me, a lot of dazzle and sparkliness– which I was not interested in, but I was there for an hour’s appointment so I went ahead and picked out a tonne of dresses — all fairly different from one another to try on. Elena was my sales associate and she went ahead with me despite my random selection, we tried on about 10 dresses that day. She helped me into each one and chatted about what we could do to alter each dress if need be — add in cap sleeves, etc.
I didn’t think my dress was THE ONE as I picked it off the rack for it’s quirky beaded shoulders and even when I first tried it on I was still not convinced as the sample was about 4 sizes too big for me but something made me try it on again. As I sent photos to my mom and sisters overseas on Facebook I knew there was something about this dress.
Elena was great– she didn’t oversell, she didn’t compliment me falsely, she just hung out and took photos from all sides for me, she went away and chatted to her colleagues while I looked at myself in the mirror and wondered …
She did try to sell me a veil and some very ugly bridesmaid dresses but was not upset when I declined. She negotiated with me like a pro and gave me an excellent price on my dress — I was so conflicted between this one and the one I thought I wanted in Kleinfeld (who also discounted my price: brides to be do not be afraid to negotiate, everything deserves a discount!)
I was honest with Elena and told her I loved a dress in Kleinfeld, that I needed time to think about which one was best for me. She agreed and took my measurements that day anyway so I could just call them up to order my dress if I wanted or I could go back in and try on– she was very laid back.
Well I called her up a couple of days later and ordered the dress, I paid half upfront on card. She told me it would take about two– three months for the dress to come in. She gave me a date and I called up about two days after that date — I spoke with a different lady who told me Elena shouldn’t give the arrival date as that’s the date the dress arrives in the country; it still has to go through customs before arriving to the store– she told me they would call me when it arrived in. Elena called me promptly when my dress arrived in.
I had decided against doing alterations with DL as I had read too many bad reviews and despite my excellent experience with them I just didn’t want to take the chance.
When I opened up the dress pouch i marvelled at how good the dress looked compared to the shabby sample I had tried on — however a snagged thread bang in the middle of the front of the dress caught my eye and almost made me cry– I called Elena’s attention to it and she called on her manager (potentially the owner, I’m not sure) who saw it and immediately called up the company’s distributor in the US (the dress had come from Spain) telling them we need another one. My heart was fluttering as I counted another three months to get the dress — not enough time to get the dress, nevermind the alterations! I was like a stunned animal not knowing what to think– so I get crazy angry or do I cry like a damsel in distress?!
Well she came off the phone and said it’s fine we’ll have another one for you;“but.” I said «it took 10 – 12 weeks for this one to arrive!!!» «No» she said, «an entire shipment came in with yours– they will just pull the exact same in your size without a flaw in it, it will be here in 7 – 10 days».
I felt they could have been more apologetic but they were blaming each other for not having seen the flaw and the manufacturer for allowing it to get to their store at all!
Either way they called me up in about 7 days and had me come in to pick up my new dress– there was no fitting on– I hadn’t asked if I could and it only hit me afterwards that I should have asked them — if only to see are they as accommodating once you’ve agreed to buy from them?!
My dress was perfect, I paid the balance on my credit card once I inspected the dress and was delighted as I left the store.
I was always in the shop midweek AM and PM– never weekend, I only saw one other bride in there at these times. The shop is not pristine but not filthy either. No champagne, water or tea offered. I think that’s only in movies anyway!!! I would recommended this shop to a friend any day!

I visited the store today and was quite satisfied with my consultant and the dresses I tried on. I was assisted by Sha and she was honest and very patient all the time, super nice! She let me pick the dresses I wanted to try on. Important to mention that all the dresses that I picked were not as good as the ones picked by her. So, plus points to Sha! Anyway, she took pictures of me on every single dress, she didn’t show any rush and there was no pressure whatsoever. The prices are pretty good compared to other stores in NYC and the selection of dress is smaller but pretty good.

I visited Designer Loft yesterday afternoon after having a lackluster experience at another bridal shop. The shop as a whole and the people that helped me (Oscar and Lindsay) made me feel incredibly comfortable and at ease. Oscar helped me the entire time and while very hands on, he was never pushy. He is a very kind person with great style! The dress I bought yesterday was pulled not by me but by him. It is so elegant and beautiful, and more then anything fits my personality perfectly. I am so happy and relieved-can’t wait to see the final product and start looking for accessories.

BRIDE BEWARE — they ruined my wedding gown and the alterations on all three of the gowns I purchased here. I spent over 10K and although the dresses were beautiful, the alterations butchered my gowns and I had to rent a gown last minute. Go elsewhere.

I absolutely loved the service at Designer Loft. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Liz helping me I would not have walked away with a beautiful and fabulously priced Paloma Blanca dress. After discussing what I was looking for and talking shop about the budget, Liz easily found and pulled out 5 to 6 dresses. She knew exactly what to find, where to find them and whether or not they would look good on me. And all of the dresses she found were well below my budget. Unlike my experiences at other bridal shops, I did not feel rushed or pressured to choose something. Liz made the whole experience fun and easy, and did I mention that the prices are great. Anyway, i can’t thank Liz enough, I never thought I would get the ‘this is the one’ feeling from a dress, but it happened here. I highly recommend coming here.

I came in from Massachusetts for an afternoon appointment. However, the train was delayed and we arrived 1 hr late! We went just to see if maybe they would still take us. Raquel kindly told us not to worry and we had a wonderful appointment. Flexibility, a smile and kindness go a far way.

I visited Designer Loft in July of 2014 with my mother to shop for a bridal gown and had a great experience! Although I didn’t end up getting my actual dress here, the service I had was great. I can’t recall the name of the woman that helped us but she was extremely attentive and ended up finding the first dress that I «fell in love» with!
They’re a smaller shop, which I enjoyed because you get more individual attention! Selection is pretty decent and the prices are GREAT if you’re trying to stay on budget! Definitely recommend taking a look here!

As the MOH of my BFF’s upcoming wedding next year, I went with her to an appointment to look for her ideal gown. Of course, there’s still plenty of time left to decide on the dress. The important thing was for her to try on different styles that would cater to her figure and frame. Note: this is really important when it comes to specifically petite (under 5“4) and curvy women. The bridal industry conforms mostly to the ideal slim and tall figures. The only way to get a real sense of what works for your body, shape, and frame is to try on different styles and be open to other options that accentuates your figure.
My BFF made an appointment for a Monday, ¹⁄₁₉ which fell on a holiday as it was MLK Day. Surprisingly, there were only a few appointments, no more than 6 incl. my BFF’s. Fortunately, the bridal consultant that assisted my friend was laid back and friendly. She was not pushy or rush the appointment at all. In fact, she led my friend to the sample gowns sale. She encouraged my friend to try on different designers and styles to see what works and looks best on her. I took pictures so she could compare prices and styles later on to decide. At the end of the appointment, my friend found the gown that she loved. However, it’s still pretty early to say yes to the dress. She ask for all of the info on the dress incl. the bridal consultant contact. However, they advised that since it was a sample gown sale, none of the dresses can be put on hold. You snooze, you loose deal. And, the gown was the only one left in that size and style.
. I can’t find the exact pic of the gown but this was the gown she tried on. The only difference was instead of the satin flowers, it had a sparkly brooch at the right side hem of the gown.
I must admit, I was a bit hesitant to go with her to the appointment. Mainly b/​c of all the negative Unilocal reviews. However, at the end of the appointment, I can see why it’s either a hit or miss. I think, it really depends on the personality and style of the bridal consultants who are assigned to work with the brides-​to-​be. Def bring in photos of desired gowns. And keep an open mind and recommendations. My BFF was looking for a simple gown preferable in lace, and strapless. Out of all the styles that she tried on, she end up loving the gown I selected for her. At Designer Loft, they allow you to take pics. Don’t decide on the spot! Also, most of the sample gowns are dirty esp the hem and bottom of the gown. It will require alterations/​cleaning which could potentially cost more for a custom fit. Most of the gowns are starting at $ 500+ depending on style and budget. Enjoy and happy shopping!!!

I currently live in London, and I’m planning a wedding in Copenhagen. I’m only in the U.S. on occasion for business, so I jumped at the opportunity to avoid shopping in £s, and booked a few appointments while in New York this past week.
There are some recurring themes in the reviews here, which I’ll address below. My appointment was on a Saturday, and my assistant was Ellen.
APPOINTMENTS: I got a Saturday appointment without an issue. I even called and moved it a bit earlier in the day and they accommodated my request. Appointments start on the hour, and are one hour in length. I had the salon entirely to myself (I followed someone, and someone came in as I was finishing, 20 minutes past my appointment end time). I wasn’t rushed one bit. I tried two dresses on multiple times and with one, removed the train and reattached it on several occasions.
PICTURES: They let you take pictures. I really appreciated this because my family is spread out, and it helps to be able to have pictures on hand for shopping for accessories, etc. later. I had my appointment with Ellen, and she really encouraged us to take pictures of all sides of the dresses I was trying on. So no issues here.
ATMOSPHERE: Designer Loft is in the garment district. Personally, the ability to sip champagne in a spotless white room ranks pretty low on the list of things I look for in a salon (which is namely, do they have a dress I want to buy). They had plenty of seating for my Mom and sisters, a big couch situated around a podium and a few arm chairs. I happened to be the only bride in at 10am so I didn’t share the larger mirrors and showroom floor with anyone, which was awesome.
DRESS SELECTION: I only tried on about 8 – 9 dresses at two salons before I found the one I loved. You can try on dresses forever and ever (because it’s fun!) but I knew roughly what I wanted and I managed to grab at least a half dozen off the rack I wanted to see. Some of the samples are in rough shape (they’ve been stepped in and out of countless times, paraded across floors, pulled over makeuped faces, etc.). But, it’s a sample, you just need to know what it looks like on your body, so, I didn’t care too much.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: I could not give my assistant, Ellen, better praise. She was great. The ladies here really seem to know their stuff. She used the information I provided on the form I filled out prior to my appointment, my Pinterest board and a quick chat about the wedding to guide the beginning of the appointment. She wasn’t pushy, but encouraged me to pull a few she thought might go well for the look I was going for.
In the dressing room she was chatty and friendly. She’s also a seamstress, which made a HUGE difference in the approach to the appointment. I had gone to Lovely Bride the day earlier, and while the ladies there were friendly, they didn’t do much more than help me pull dresses on and off. Ellen was «on it». She was carefully folding fabrics and pinning and showing me all the ways they could alter a dress to get what I wanted. I tried on one dress with a back I loved, but thought the front was boring. She broke out a veil and a few belts and… I bought the dress.
VALUE: The salon knocked 10% of the total bill, and required roughly a 50% deposit on the dress. This seems pretty standard. I know what the dress costs elsewhere and there wasn’t any funny business going on here. Also, they have me a great deal on shipping the dress overseas :).
ALTERATIONS: TBD. I can only come back through NYC once for a fitting when the dress comes in, but I won’t have too many changes to the dress as the sample size actually fit me to a «t». I’ll update again through the process but, so far so good!

I’ve been here a few times as a bridesmaid and now as a bride. Always a nice experience. Sure, tiny things could be improved, but it is perfect as it is. Highly recommend them.

I wish I could give 0 stars.
My review, also featured on The Knot:
As a person in sales, where I get screamed at and deal with a lot of difficult people, it takes a lot to ruffle my feathers. However, this experience was nothing short of traumatic.
What should have been an enjoyable experience really turned me off to wedding dress shopping completely. I wish I had read the Unilocal reviews prior to going but unfortunately did not (check them out for yourself and you’ll notice many others found themselves in my shoes).
My assistant, Elen, was very nice when we first arrived. However, this would quickly change and she would be not only rude to me, the bride, but also to my guests. The ONLY way I would only go back here if I was desperate for a good deal and at that point I would insist on having another attendant (hopefully it could only get better from here) and avoid this woman at all costs.
Shortly after I first arrived, I requested to look at the boleros/​cover-​ups first. As I explained to her, for the right cover up (we all have our thing ladies – for me, despite being a size 4 or 6, it’s my arms), I may want a totally different gown. However, she would not allow me to look at the boleros and coverups prior to looking at the dresses, despite my requests. I should have taken this as a warning… little did I know then how terrible this experience would become:
–she REFUSED to give me privacy when I had to remove my bra for a dress and likened herself to a gynecologist.
–As it turned out my dream dress ended up not being flattering. She lost patience, telling me I should have researched prior to arriving (which I did, however, there was no way for me to know that this dress would be unflattering prior to trying it on).
–She snapped at both myself and my two guests as she was annoyed that they kept giving their opinions. Meanwhile, that was the whole reason I asked them to come. She then had me try on completely different dresses, making the comment, «your friend will be pleased with this one» in a very snarky way.
–She refused to give her opinion of what was flattering when I asked.
–Finally, the icing on the cake: I was there on a summer day and the A/​C wasn’t that great (even my guests were hot). I mentioned that I was worried about wearing a dress with sleeves now only because I found myself to be very hot. To this she replied that I should SEE A DOCTOR and claimed that no one had ever before been hot in that dress or in that store (which I find hard to believe, seems like a weirdly generalized statement).
At this point, I had tried on about 5 dresses and could not take any more of her lack of patience and insults… it’s a shame too because they looked like they had a nice, large selection of dresses and I may have found «the one» within their collection. However, I was too miserable to even bother with one more dress.

Visit Date: August2013
Allows Pictures: Yes
Pros:
* Friendly, attentive service
* Appointment began on time
* Large mirrored area with two pedestals
* Guest bathroom was clean and spacious (for New York)
* One of their in-​house designer was available to discuss her designs
* Was provided with the designer, name, and price of the dresses I was interested in
* Received a follow-​up call from the consultant
Cons:
* A bit busy (there were 3 or 4 brides there at the time, and the space is not that large). My fitting room had someone else’s dresses still inside that my consultant had to move.
* The showroom looks a bit disorganized, but that may have just been because there was a trunk show going on at the time.
* Not a huge selection of non-​traditional gowns
* The chiffon sample gowns are in extremely poor condition (runs, pilling, etc.)
* Was not offered water, but there was a cooler outside the main doors.
* There is a storage room for employees only where they seem to have additional dresses that are not on display.
* Not as high-​end as the store name would lead you to believe!
I arrived a few minutes early and was asked to fill out a form with the standard questions (contact information, budget). Netta was my consultant, and after asking a few more questions showed me around the showroom. I tried on about 5 dresses, but none were quite what I was looking for. Netta was very helpful though, as she tried to find me more dresses that I might like, and offered to take pictures for me.
She suggested speaking with one of their in-​house designers about one of the dresses I liked, but I declined since I was not especially interested (and she was speaking with another bride at the time). At the end of my appointment, she was still friendly even though I hadn’t found a dress I loved. She suggested I check out their website for future trunk-​shows.
A couple days later, I received a follow-​up call from Netta, informing me that one of their other designers (for one of the other dresses I liked) would be available that week, and if I was interested in coming in. I declined, but thanked her for calling me back.
Overall, if the designers they carry are dresses you would like to try on, and you don’t mind a bit of a busy atmosphere, I would recommend Designer Loft. If you are looking for a less traditional style wedding dress, I would try somewhere else first.

Horrible experience. I accompanied my friend who made an appointment to try on wedding gowns. The staff she had was unfriendly, unhelpful, and then turned rude towards the end of the appointment. My friend was excited about this appointment but the staff’s attitude and treatment more than dampened her mood.
We saw other staff helping other brides whose appointments overlapped with my friend’s. The other staff were helpful, friendly, and courteous.
Dress selection was only alright. Though my less than rosy perception may be because the staff did not provide any guidance or answer our questions as to how the dresses were organized, or where we could locate the type of gowns my friend was interested in.